The purpose of life is to be happy, to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate. It is not to be well known, cited, or powerful.

The Buddha's path is not about becoming somebody different but about becoming more and more who you really are.

The force of the kindness of others is so strong, we can't possibly measure it.

The challenge in meditation is not to eliminate thinking but to understand the nature of thought itself.

The way to change the world is to change your own mind.

The mind itself is the maker of all happiness and misery; yet beings do not understand this and blame external conditions.

True love is not for the faint-hearted.

Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.

The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.

Each moment of mindfulness is a moment of purification.

Both formerly and now, it is only suffering that I describe, and the cessation of suffering.

Not by hatred is hatred conquered, but by love alone. This is an eternal law.

Craving and aversion are the roots of suffering. Observe them with equanimity.

Enlightenment is not the end of change but the end of resistance to change.

When dharma fills your body and mind, you realize that something is missing.

The essence of Buddhist practice is to bring everything onto the path. Every experience becomes an opportunity for awakening.

The spiritual journey begins with the recognition that beneath our surface happiness there lies a deep inner pain.

Conquer anger with non-anger. Conquer evil with good. Conquer stinginess with giving. Conquer deceit with truth.

The mind is like a well-forged sword - it adapts to all situations.

Meditation is the road to happiness.

The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves.

The difference between misery and happiness depends on what we do with our attention.

Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.

If you want to understand suffering, you must look into the situation at hand. The teachings say that wherever a problem arises it must be settled right there.

True peace comes not from controlling the world, but from letting go of control.

Karma is not fate but the law of moral causation, showing us that we are the architects of our own destiny.

Mindfulness is the gentle effort to be continuously present with experience.

When mindfulness and concentration are strong, insight into the three characteristics naturally unfolds.

My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.

Generosity generates its own enthusiasm. We don't have to force ourselves to be generous; we just need to start.

Be a lamp unto yourself. Work out your liberation with diligence.

Problems that remain persistently insoluble should always be suspected as questions asked in the wrong way.

To study the Way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be enlightened by all things.